“He was our mascot for a very long time and a lot of people grew quite attached to him,” said Melanie Coulter, Executive Director of The Windsor/Essex County Humane Society. “He was a special guy. He touched a lot of people.”

In this file photo, Essex MP Jeff Watson gets up close and personal with Dennis, a longtime mascot at the Windsor-Essex Humane Society. (Nick Brancaccio/The Windsor Star)

“Dennis was the perfect mascot because he so enjoyed the fast-paced action,” said the society. “In his younger years Dennis had a huge personality. He was often at the front desk stepping on keyboards, hanging up phones, and strutting in front of customers. His favourite hobby of ripping open pet food bags and stealing food was often forgiven because his charm always won us over.”

Dennis’ brother Tommy died in 2004 and Dennis soldiered on. He continued in his role as the mascot with the “distinctive meow” even after being diagnosed with glaucoma and having his right eye removed.

The society is left with one mascot — Freddie the cat — who has been getting lots of love and attention this week.

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